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We are in a historic moment of trauma in the United States. How do we face these things fully, let in the devastation, and then both heal and act? Can we navigate through this toward healing? Toward racial, economic, and gender justice? Can we use this moment to alter the trajectory of climate change toward sustainability? Somatics and neuroscience reveal that we have inherent needs as humans—safety, belonging and dignity. We have essential material needs too, like healthy food and clean...

By the HOPE Team, 7/28/21, positiveexperience.org/blog Like so many people, we spent part of the weekend transfixed by the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Despite COVID, no crowds, and troubles with the Tokyo organizing committee, the athletes dazzled us with their speed, endurance and grace. In particular, Simone Biles seems superhuman – a woman who seems to defy gravity and performs gymnastic feats that had been thought to be impossible. She wears her past on her body and outfit: her collarbone bears...

By Julia Weis, ¡Salud America!, July 20, 2021 A new method is emerging to help children heal from trauma – art therapy. More mental health clinics, like the Children’s Bereavement Center of South Texas , are beginning to use art to help children with the healing process. Mental health professionals hope that art therapy can help children process adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), which is growing to be a public health crisis . “Art therapy helps one process emotions and feelings that one...

In 2020, New Jersey, a state with about 9 million people spread over the rural countryside and dense urban areas like Newark, launched a new entity: the NJ Office of Resilience (NJOR). The NJOR is unusual because it is a public-private partnership. It brings together three private foundations as well as the NJ Department of Children and Families to provide community-driven strategies for preventing, treating, and healing from ACEs. Like a ship’s navigator laying out a course on charts, Dwana...

Hi everyone. Can you believe that we are at the end of July this weekend? Time is flying! For this Food for Thought Friday we have a study titled " Profiles and behavioral consequences of child abuse among adolescent girls and boys from Barbados and Grenada " by Agata Debowska, Daniel Boduszek, Nicole Sherretts, Dominic Willmott, and Adele D. Jones of the University of Sheffield and University of Huddersfield. It is published in Child Abuse & Neglect, (Volume 79, May 2018, Pages 245-258)...

By Bethany Teachman, Greater Good Magazine, July 15, 2021 You’ve been waiting…and waiting…and waiting for this amazing, magical day when you could return to “normal life.” For many people in the U.S., it feels like that dim light at the end of the pandemic tunnel is becoming brighter. My 12- and 14-year-old daughters now have their first shot, with the second one soon to follow. I was euphoric when the kids received their vaccinations, choking up under my mask at the relief that my family...

By The Annie E. Casey Foundation, July 20, 2021 Public health strategies in Atlanta and Milwaukee have prevented gun homicides over the past several years, according to a new report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Often referred to as community-based violence interventions, the safety approaches implemented in the two cities involve examining the root causes of conflicts, interrupting situations likely to result in shootings and promoting community-wide healing. The report, Improving...

The Office of Minority Health (OMH) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) cordially invites you to join a national audience of mental health professionals, health advocates and educators, health care providers, public health professionals, and OMH partners and stakeholders for an upcoming webinar: Trauma and COVID-19: Addressing Mental Health Among Racial/Ethnic Minority Populations July 29, 2021 | 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. ET As part of the OMH observance of National...

By Bob Sege, 7/22/21, positiveexperience.org/blog Summertime offers a chance to pause and reflect. This past year our team has had the good fortune to meet with, teach, and learn from dozens of organizational leaders and well over 10,000 participants from around the country and beyond. HOPE resonates with the values and work of so many other programs, organizations, and frameworks. At the same time, HOPE coalesces many years of research, thinking, and practical experience. What does HOPE...

Good Sunday morning everyone. We hope you are enjoying the weekend. While we seldom post on the weekend, today is different. Why? Well, because it's the 25th of the month and, as promised, we want to bring you a post that highlights the issue of slavery and human trafficking. This week will mark the United Nations observance of World Day Against Trafficking In Persons on 30th July. The commemoration of the Day was proclaimed in December 2013 by the United Nations General Assembly, in its...

Hi everyone, it's Food For Thought Friday again and we are excited to bring to you this study from Europe on ADHD prevalence in children and adolescents. The reason is that some of the respondents in this study are of Caribbean heritage! With the paucity of Caribbean research in this area, we are always on the hunt for global research that includes respondents from or in the Caribbean. Ahem, in case you missed it, that was a subtle ask for you to share whatever research you may come across...

Hi everybody. As you may know there have been many persons who have sought to dull the pain of childhood trauma through the use of narcotics, some becoming addicted in the process. In an effort to explore solutions to this dilemma, we are happy to share with you an upcoming webinar on ACEs and Addiction. "Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACEs, are shown to increase the risk of chronic health conditions including substance use disorder. These ACES, frequently experienced as “trauma” in early...